Refrigerated display and dispensing unit



Nov. 20, 1951 w. s. VORWICK ETAL 2,575,434

REFRIGERATED DISPLAY AND DISPENSING UNIT Filed June 13, 1949 W/LQ/AM .5. VORW/CK DONALD W. KENNEDY IN V EN T0125 Patented Nov. 20, 1951 QUNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE REFRIGERATED DISPLAY AND DISPENSING UNIT William S. Vorwick, Seattle, and Donald W. Kennedy, Vashon Island, Wash.

Application J mm 13, 1949, Serial No. 98,778

3 Claims. 1

This invention relates to improvements in refrigerating apparatus and more particularly to a combined refrigerated merchandising display unit and storage cabinet.

It is one of the principal objects of this invention to provide a unit of this character which is capable of displaying and preserving fully exposed perishable merchandise, such as ice cream bars, candy bars and similar confections.

A further object is the provision of a display tray in the form of a cold plate of shallow boxlike formation and provided with means at one of its ends for automatically directing or rolling refrigerated air over the entire contents of the tray whereby a uniform low temperature is maintained.

The foregoing and other objects will appear as our invention is more fully hereinafter described in the following specification, illustrated in the accompanying drawing and finally pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a unit made in accordance with our invention.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary rear elevation of Figure l with fragments broken away for convenience of illustration.

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the piping system by means of which a compressor, condenser and receiving tank are operatively connected with the display tray, and Figure 4 is a detail view of the tray.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing:

With particular reference to Figure 2, the unit comprises a cabinet made in more or less the conventional manner and consisting of a framework generally indicated at I provided with an outside covering 2 of heavy gauge steel, or the like and provided with any desired finish or color. The lower portion of the cabinet forms a housing for a refrigerating unit, illustrated diagrammatically in Figure 3, wherein a compressor, indicated at 3, is connected with a condenser 4 and adapted to deliver a refrigerant under pressure thereto. The condenser is connected with a receiving tank 5 which is connected as at 6 with one end of our new and novel cold plate generally indicated at 1. The opposite end or side of the cold plate is connected as at 8 with the suction side of the compressor.

As most clearly illustrated in Figure 1 the cold plate is of box-like formation having a bottom wall 9, end walls l0 and II and side walls I2. The end wall II is of greater height than the.

other walls of the tray and is turned back on itself as shown to provide a downwardly inclined baflle plate or portion I3 adapted to direct and roll the cold air downwardly over the tray on which the various confections are displayed. We have found by experiment that the bafi'le portion 13 i most effective when inclined downwardly toward the tray on approximately 3 /2 degrees. However we do not wish to be limited to this angularity since obviously changes may be required to suit varying conditions.

All of said walls, including the bafiie plate, are of spaced apart double thickness for the circulation of the refrigerant between the Walls over the entire area of the tray and baflle.

The tray is embedded in the top of the cabinet and. secured thereto by any approved means. Within the upper portion of the cabinet (see Figure 2) we provide a storage compartment l4 insulated as at l 5 from the outside walls 2 of the cabinet. The bottom wall 9 of the cold plate forms the top wall of the compartment which is refrigerated by the cold plate. The compartment, provided with a door It, provides a convenient refrigerated storage space for a reserve supply of merchandise to replace that dispensed from the cold plate.

While we have shown a particular form of embodiment of our invention, we are aware that many minor changes therein will readily suggest themselves to others skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Having thus described the invention, what we claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. In a unit of the class described, the combination of a cold plate of box-like formation having bottom, side and end walls all of hollow construction and in open communication with each other, one of said walls being of greater height than the other walls and being turned back over said bottom wall in spaced relation thereto for directing refrigerated air over said cold plate.

2. In a unit of the class described, the combination of a cold plate of box-like formation having bottom, side and end walls all of hollow construction, one of said walls being of greater height than the other walls and being turned back over said bottom wall in downwardly inclined spaced relation thereto for directing refrigerated air downwardly and over said cold plate.

3. A refrigerated merchandising display unit comprising in combination, a cabinet, a display tray mounted on the upper end of the cabinet and having a bottom wall, side and end walls, one

of said. end walls being of greater height than 0 REFERENCES CITED the other and being turned back over said bottom wall, all of said walls being of air-tight hollow g i fig ggi fff are of record m the construction and in open communication with each other, and a refrigerating unit disposed 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS within the cabinet and operatively connected with Number Name Date said tray for circulating refrigerant through and 1,004,442 Krieger Sept. 26, 1911 within all of said walls. 2,207,586 Hill July 9, 1940 WILLIAM s, VQRWICK, 2,248,286 Sanders July 8, 1941 DONALD W. KENNEDY. 10 2,428,243 Raskin Sept. 30, 1947 

